AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF DIVIDEND POLICY ON MARKET VALUE OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA.

The study examines the impact of dividend policy on market value of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. The study used a sample of fifteen deposit money banks listed in Nigerian Exchange Group that have published their audited annual financial report between 2016 and 2022. The data collected were subjected to descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and a panel multiple regression analysis to explore both trends and possible impact of dividend payout ratio, dividend yield and dividend per share on market value of deposit money banks in Nigeria. The results revealed that dividend payout ratio, dividend yield and dividend per share were found to have positive and significant impact on market value of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. Therefore, it is recommended that management should always be conversant with the investors' preference when it comes to dividend payment in Nigeria. Under normal circumstances, investors in Nigeria will prefer dividend payment to capital appreciation. In addition, as observed in the study that a higher dividend payout ratio enhanced investors confident and managers can create more value by increasing dividends to an optimal level.